Value Affirmations to Promote Student Success

As we start the new year, you may be looking for new ways to promote students’ sense of belonging and build a positive climate in your classroom. Look no further--value affirmations are simple writing exercises designed to affirm a student's values, increasing their confidence and sense of self-worth. This strategy can have positive effects on student achievement, especially for minoritized students in STEM disciplines. While researchers have not identified all factors required for statistical results, it is believed that these reflections reduce stress and cortisol levels and may buffer students against the negative emotions caused by stereotype threat.

It’s simple to do. Present your students with a list of values and ask them to write about a few values that are important to them personally. You might ask them questions, such as: 

• Which of these values do you most naturally use to guide your choices? 
• What do you appreciate about yourself?
• Which of these values matter most to you? Why?

The whole activity should take no more than 15 minutes.  In addition, you can ask your students to reflect on how their values may have influenced their career choices or have them return to the values throughout the course and reflect on how the course may have affected their value statements. Their responses can also help to inform how you structure future class discussions and assignments. For instance, you might intentionally incorporate references, examples, or debates that link to values they identified.

Below is one example of this assignment that can be adapted to fit your specific course or context.